Moroccans won’t let you walk out hungry

After a quiet Chinese New Year’s break, the BJ FOoDiEs team have woken up from winter hibernation and jump started 2015 with a packed-out dinner party at Beijing’s newest up-and-coming Moroccan/Cajun restaurant called Caravan. Opened just a few months ago by Badr Benjelloun, this is another multi-purpose venue combining the concepts of a soul-food restaurant, wine bar, live music + creative art space hotspot into one. Seems like a lot, but actually it makes perfect sense once you know this is by the same brains and talents behind Cuju Moroccan Bistrot, Rummery + Sports Bar (click herefor LDS review).

Still in soft-opening, Caravan actually opened their restaurant specifically for the BJ FOoDiEs crew this past Sunday, March 14 (they normally are closed Sunday evenings). On top of that, they managed to serve up a fully packed house of 50+ foodies to sample their signature dishes representative of both Badr’s Moroccan and Cajun roots. Similar to the lively, rambunctious nights I’ve enjoyed at Cuju, Caravan was so much fun with drink specials all night (house wine that’s friggin’ fantastic), food made with so much heart (the chicken tagine was slow cooked for over 12 hours!) and Badr’s sincere hospitality where he proudly claims – “if us Moroccans can do something right, it’s to never let people walk out hungry!”

This month’s BJ FOoDIES had a great turn-out (they sold out of seats in only 4 days of posting about the event) and they collectively raised a total of ￥3,739 directly donated to Philanthropy in Motion (PIM) social enterprise. See below for charity details.

The Weekend Started at Caravan with their Grand Opening Party on Friday…

and closes with the BJ FOoDiEs Charity Dinner on Sunday evening

On top of the fact that Badr opened Caravan specifically for the group, he originally planned to give everyone the choice of having duck or chicken and in the end, he gave everyone both! And though the duck and chicken looked almost identical (both big plates of thighs over a bed of grains), they were really quite different. The Duck Étoufféeis a New Orleans specialty served with rice pilaf and I wish I could have let my taste buds remember, but it was devoured in seconds because I was so hungry by the time this first main was served. But the chicken tagine was a different story – it was so ridiculously tender (slow cooked over 12 hours), I enforced self-control to actually stop and savor every bite.

While I normally would recommend that you come back to get that chicken tagine, Badr claims that he’s guilty of wanting to change up the food menu sporadically based on his whims, so expect new Moroccan or Cajun-themed dishes on a not-so-regular, but frequent basis. All the more reason to revisit Caravan often for more surprises – you might not know what will be on the menu, but you can count on Badr always giving it his all.

LDS Snapshots of Caravan’s Set FOoDiEs Menu:

Spiced Moroccan Olives with some home made corn bread

A Medley of Vegetables Marinated in Charmula sauce for 2 days, refreshing and crunchy

LDS Snapshots of BJ FOoDiEs:

Caravan’s Contact Details:

Address: 44 Guanghua Lu, 光华路44号

Tel: +86 10 8563 0801

Open Daily from 11AM-11PM (Closed Sundays)

To join the BJ Foodies mailing list to find out about upcoming events, just email: bjfoodies@gmail.com

March’s Charity of Choice:

Empower with Philanthropy in Motion (PIM)

Philanthropy in Motion (PIM) is a social enterprise that aims to empower the next generation to give with the most impact. Funds raised go towards Model Foundation, a summer program that brings together young people from across the world to take concerted action in identifying and supporting worthwhile nonprofit initiatives in China. With our vision to make philanthropy accessible to all, we activate the next generation to give early and give smarter.

[…] Badr Benjelloun, creator of Cuju and Caravan is excited to launch a series of wine/Moroccan food dinner pairings with the first one coming this Monday, June 29th at Moroccan/Cajun restaurant Caravan! […]